Wells Family - Person Sheet
Wells Family - Person Sheet
NameHerbert Mathewson Samuels 
Birth4 Jan 1897, San Francisco, CA
Census1900, San Francisco, CA
Memoroll#104, pg 333
Census1910, San Francisco, CA
Memoroll#96, ED 145, sht 3B
CensusJan 1920, San Francisco, CA
Memoroll#133, pg 245
Census10 Apr 1940, San Francisco, CA
Memoroll#316, pg 64
Death6 Apr 1979, San Francisco, CA
Burial10 Apr 1979, Evergreen Cem, Oakland, Alameda Co, CA
MemoCremated -Mausoleum Evergreen Chapel, Begonia Alcove
OccupationSeaman, Ship Captain
FatherWilliam Charles Samuels (1859-1934)
MotherElizabeth Jane Young (1861-1951)
Misc. Notes
He was listed with his parents in 1900 and 1910 census. Listed as a driver in the 1919 City Directory. In 1920 he was living at 474 Fell St, renting and working as an auto mechanic. They had their third son, Leslie in March 1920. The birth certificate lists him as Capt. on the Laurel at Angel Island in a civil service position. And he seems to also be listed there renting a room on Angel Island and single in the 1920 census. When Ken was born in 1923 they were living at 181A 14th St. The birth certificate lists Herbert as the father.
A month later her was married again to Pearl Alcorn. A San Francisco Examiner article about him on April 9th, 1924 is titled "Man Charged With Bigamy" and reads: "The blighted romances of two young women who put implicit faith in their husband, but later discovered he had married one without divorcing the other, was revealed yesterday with the issuance of a bigamy warrant for Herbert M. Samuels, mariner. The warrant was sworn to by Mrs. Marie Samuels, wife No. 1, who declared that the first she knew of her husband's double life was when she surprised him several days ago living with Pearl Alcorn, wife No. 2, in an apartment house on Leavenworth street. At that time wife No. 2 explained that she did not know Samuels was married before. She quit him on the spot. Since then Samuels has disappeared. Wife No. 1, an actress, married Samuels nine years ago (1916) and has four children by him, the eldest being six." Within 10 days, Pearl filed for an annulment which was granted on May 3rd.
Herbert subsequently filed for a divorce from Marie on 5 April 1927 in San Francisco. There were a series of cross complaints, responses and amended responses up thru Sept 20th, when the divorce was paused; and on Sept 21 the judge denied Interlocutory of Divorce to either party. That is the last record for the action until 1959 when the expired case was closed. Due to the fact that both Herbert and Marie later remarried, it is obvious that they were either divorced in another County or at a later date in San Francisco.
He was listed as attending his parents 50th wedding anniversary in 1929, but is not shown in the photo which was printed in the Chronicle.
He legally married Pearl again on 17 June 1930 in Carson City, NV and they lived in Oakland until she divorced him in 1937 on the basis of cruelty.
He is listed as Herbert Samuels, a barge Captain for an Oil company and divorced (43, CA) in 1940, living with his divorced sister, Ruth.
He married Gudny Knudsen about 1949, but is not listed with her in the 1950 census and was most likely on a voyage at the time.
Son "Bud" says he retired as a ship Captain for the Branson Line. He apparently went by the name of Samuelsen in deference to his later wife, Gudny, who was Scandinavian. Social Security Death Records list his birth as 4 Jan 1897 and death as April 1979 in Oakland, CA. His death certificate lists Samuelson as an AKA and says he died in USPHS Hospital, on 15th & Lake St in San Francisco, and that he lived at 3023 Hyde St, Oakland, CA. He died of lung cancer and was cremated at the Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland. It also says he was a Seaman for 35 years, and worked for Marine Traders of Baltimore. The data was all supplied by his wife, Gudny who lived at their house in Oakland.
A month later her was married again to Pearl Alcorn. A San Francisco Examiner article about him on April 9th, 1924 is titled "Man Charged With Bigamy" and reads: "The blighted romances of two young women who put implicit faith in their husband, but later discovered he had married one without divorcing the other, was revealed yesterday with the issuance of a bigamy warrant for Herbert M. Samuels, mariner. The warrant was sworn to by Mrs. Marie Samuels, wife No. 1, who declared that the first she knew of her husband's double life was when she surprised him several days ago living with Pearl Alcorn, wife No. 2, in an apartment house on Leavenworth street. At that time wife No. 2 explained that she did not know Samuels was married before. She quit him on the spot. Since then Samuels has disappeared. Wife No. 1, an actress, married Samuels nine years ago (1916) and has four children by him, the eldest being six." Within 10 days, Pearl filed for an annulment which was granted on May 3rd.
Herbert subsequently filed for a divorce from Marie on 5 April 1927 in San Francisco. There were a series of cross complaints, responses and amended responses up thru Sept 20th, when the divorce was paused; and on Sept 21 the judge denied Interlocutory of Divorce to either party. That is the last record for the action until 1959 when the expired case was closed. Due to the fact that both Herbert and Marie later remarried, it is obvious that they were either divorced in another County or at a later date in San Francisco.
He was listed as attending his parents 50th wedding anniversary in 1929, but is not shown in the photo which was printed in the Chronicle.
He legally married Pearl again on 17 June 1930 in Carson City, NV and they lived in Oakland until she divorced him in 1937 on the basis of cruelty.
He is listed as Herbert Samuels, a barge Captain for an Oil company and divorced (43, CA) in 1940, living with his divorced sister, Ruth.
He married Gudny Knudsen about 1949, but is not listed with her in the 1950 census and was most likely on a voyage at the time.
Son "Bud" says he retired as a ship Captain for the Branson Line. He apparently went by the name of Samuelsen in deference to his later wife, Gudny, who was Scandinavian. Social Security Death Records list his birth as 4 Jan 1897 and death as April 1979 in Oakland, CA. His death certificate lists Samuelson as an AKA and says he died in USPHS Hospital, on 15th & Lake St in San Francisco, and that he lived at 3023 Hyde St, Oakland, CA. He died of lung cancer and was cremated at the Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland. It also says he was a Seaman for 35 years, and worked for Marine Traders of Baltimore. The data was all supplied by his wife, Gudny who lived at their house in Oakland.
Spouses
Birth11 Oct 1897, Cairo, Alexander Co, IL
Death25 Jan 1974, Antioch, Contra Costa Co, CA
Burial30 Jan 1974, Willamette Nat'l Cem, Portland, Multnomah Co, OR
MemoBuried with her (2nd) husband, Plot M, 36
OccupationActress
FatherWilliam Alexander English (1861-1923)
MotherHannah Powers (1869-1916)
Misc. Notes
Listed with her parents in 1900 and 1910. The 1900 census lists her birth as Oct 1898, and her age was 2 - then crossed out and changed to 1. She has a twin sister, Edna Marie!
Her family moved to Calif when she was 6 according to her death cert. In 1910 she and her sister are listed as age 12. "I remember grandma saying they went to Catholic school and the nuns were so strict. She had a sparky Irish glint in her eye... and I'm sure she was a true hellraiser in her early years."
The marriage license in 1916 lists her as age 18, born in IL and parents Wm A. English (b. IL) and Hannah Powers (b. IL). It was witnessed by James Wm. English (her brother). 1920 census lists her as age 22, no occupation, with her husband and two sons at 474 Fell Street in San Francisco. The 1924 Examiner article on her husband's bigamy lists her as an actress. Subsequently, she gave up all four of her sons for her in-laws to raise. She was head dancer for Fantera Marko (?) according to her son, Lloyd.
Family lore about the English twins was that they were "Flappers" in the roaring twenties. They were dancers and one of them was working at Republic Studios as a wardrobe mistress. They were thought of as rather "Wild". That could mean they smoked cigarettes! Edna Marie and her twin sister Marie Edna were in fact dancing girls in a troupe that, among other places, toured the southwest and - according to their sister Zella, who was in charge of wardrobe - once performed before Pancho Villa and his band. Presumably to favorable reviews.
Herbert subsequently filed for a divorce from her on 5 April 1927 in San Francisco. There were a series of cross complaints, responses and amended responses up thru Sept 20th, when the divorce was paused; and on Sept 21 the judge denied Interlocutory of Divorce to either party. That is the last record for the action until 1959 when the expired case was closed. Due to the fact that both Herbert and Marie later remarried, it is obvious that they were either divorced in another County or at a later date in San Francisco.
In 1930 Marie (25, IL) and Jack Fledderman (37, LA) were living in the Arundell apartments on Ellis St, listed as married, and had no children from either marriage living with them.
"She was a tiny little thing... 4'10". A dancer... in vaudeville, she and my grandpa (who was 6'4") had a routine where she would dance around him as he played the grand piano. But her punishment of choice was her shoe when she needed to discipline us... she'd say "don't make me take off my shoe!" She was fast at it too!" They were both big in the Eagles group (like the Elks) and were like Mr and Mrs Eagle one year - late 60s or very early 70s. They were both HUGE baseball fans - Giants and As - and she would score the games on note pads. They would have one game on the TV and the other on the radio and she would be scoring both of them. Jack was also a huge coin collector.
In 1940 she is listed with her husband Jack (47, LA) a musician and 6 yr old daughter Joan, next door to the family of her sister Edna. It says she had completed her sophomore year of high school, just like her husband and sister.
She was always the strong one in the relationship, but when he died, she was lost. He died before her, and she is listed as a widow on her death cert. She had Parkinsons disease and died of pneumonia in the Driftwood Convalescent Hospital, where she had been living with her daughter, in Antioch, for 8 months at the time, following her husband's death.
Oakland Tribune - Monday, 28 Jan 1974, pg 14E
FLEDDERMANN, Marie Edna, in Antioch, January 25, 1974; beloved wife of the late Jack Fleddermann; loving mother of Joan MacCallister of Antioch; sister of Edna O’Banion of San Leandro and Zella Prager of Santa Ana; grandmother of five grandchildren. A native of Illinois; aged 76 years. A member of and post president of Alameda Eagles Ladies Ausiliary No. 1976 F.O.E.
Friends are invited to attend the services, Tuesday, January 29 at 9:30 a.m. from the George W. Murphy Memorial Chapel, 1421 High St, Alameda; thence to St Joseph’s Basillica, 1109 Chestnut St, Alameda where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated commencing at 10:00 a.m. Recitation of the Rosary, Monday evening at 8:00 p.m. followed by an Eagles Auxilary Service under the auspices of Alameda Aerie No. 1076 F.O.E. Ralph H. Greer, director. Interment, Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Oregon.
The Murphy-Greer funeral home in Alameda CA handled her funeral before sending her body to Jacobson-Cascade (now Lincoln-Willamette) 9775 S.E. Scott, Portland OR 97216, tel (503) 771-1191. She is buried in the Willamette National Cemetery next to her husband.
Her family moved to Calif when she was 6 according to her death cert. In 1910 she and her sister are listed as age 12. "I remember grandma saying they went to Catholic school and the nuns were so strict. She had a sparky Irish glint in her eye... and I'm sure she was a true hellraiser in her early years."
The marriage license in 1916 lists her as age 18, born in IL and parents Wm A. English (b. IL) and Hannah Powers (b. IL). It was witnessed by James Wm. English (her brother). 1920 census lists her as age 22, no occupation, with her husband and two sons at 474 Fell Street in San Francisco. The 1924 Examiner article on her husband's bigamy lists her as an actress. Subsequently, she gave up all four of her sons for her in-laws to raise. She was head dancer for Fantera Marko (?) according to her son, Lloyd.
Family lore about the English twins was that they were "Flappers" in the roaring twenties. They were dancers and one of them was working at Republic Studios as a wardrobe mistress. They were thought of as rather "Wild". That could mean they smoked cigarettes! Edna Marie and her twin sister Marie Edna were in fact dancing girls in a troupe that, among other places, toured the southwest and - according to their sister Zella, who was in charge of wardrobe - once performed before Pancho Villa and his band. Presumably to favorable reviews.
Herbert subsequently filed for a divorce from her on 5 April 1927 in San Francisco. There were a series of cross complaints, responses and amended responses up thru Sept 20th, when the divorce was paused; and on Sept 21 the judge denied Interlocutory of Divorce to either party. That is the last record for the action until 1959 when the expired case was closed. Due to the fact that both Herbert and Marie later remarried, it is obvious that they were either divorced in another County or at a later date in San Francisco.
In 1930 Marie (25, IL) and Jack Fledderman (37, LA) were living in the Arundell apartments on Ellis St, listed as married, and had no children from either marriage living with them.
"She was a tiny little thing... 4'10". A dancer... in vaudeville, she and my grandpa (who was 6'4") had a routine where she would dance around him as he played the grand piano. But her punishment of choice was her shoe when she needed to discipline us... she'd say "don't make me take off my shoe!" She was fast at it too!" They were both big in the Eagles group (like the Elks) and were like Mr and Mrs Eagle one year - late 60s or very early 70s. They were both HUGE baseball fans - Giants and As - and she would score the games on note pads. They would have one game on the TV and the other on the radio and she would be scoring both of them. Jack was also a huge coin collector.
In 1940 she is listed with her husband Jack (47, LA) a musician and 6 yr old daughter Joan, next door to the family of her sister Edna. It says she had completed her sophomore year of high school, just like her husband and sister.
She was always the strong one in the relationship, but when he died, she was lost. He died before her, and she is listed as a widow on her death cert. She had Parkinsons disease and died of pneumonia in the Driftwood Convalescent Hospital, where she had been living with her daughter, in Antioch, for 8 months at the time, following her husband's death.
Oakland Tribune - Monday, 28 Jan 1974, pg 14E
FLEDDERMANN, Marie Edna, in Antioch, January 25, 1974; beloved wife of the late Jack Fleddermann; loving mother of Joan MacCallister of Antioch; sister of Edna O’Banion of San Leandro and Zella Prager of Santa Ana; grandmother of five grandchildren. A native of Illinois; aged 76 years. A member of and post president of Alameda Eagles Ladies Ausiliary No. 1976 F.O.E.
Friends are invited to attend the services, Tuesday, January 29 at 9:30 a.m. from the George W. Murphy Memorial Chapel, 1421 High St, Alameda; thence to St Joseph’s Basillica, 1109 Chestnut St, Alameda where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated commencing at 10:00 a.m. Recitation of the Rosary, Monday evening at 8:00 p.m. followed by an Eagles Auxilary Service under the auspices of Alameda Aerie No. 1076 F.O.E. Ralph H. Greer, director. Interment, Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Oregon.
The Murphy-Greer funeral home in Alameda CA handled her funeral before sending her body to Jacobson-Cascade (now Lincoln-Willamette) 9775 S.E. Scott, Portland OR 97216, tel (503) 771-1191. She is buried in the Willamette National Cemetery next to her husband.
Marriage25 Apr 1916, Alameda, Alameda Co, CA
Divorce
Separated9 Apr 1924, San Francisco, CA
Memosubsequently filed for divorce
ChildrenLloyd William (Samuels) (1916-1998)
Herbert Mathewson "Bud" (Samuels) (1918-2010)
William Walter (Samuels) (1920-2011)
Kenneth Joseph (1923-1987)
Misc. Notes
Name also listed as Alchorn, Alkern
She was in Nevada in 1910 at age 8, with her mother Josie (24, CA), sister Ida (13, CA) and brother Philip (10, OR). Her mother is listed as married, but her father isn’t listed with them. Living with them is her mother’s sister May Muldoon (17, NV) and husband Edward (25, NV).
Listed with her brothers Philip Alcorn (19, OR) and Thomas Hoad (6, CA) and her remarried mother, Josie Hoad (38, CA) back in northern Calif in 1920. Her stepfather isn’t listed, but he is Edward William Hoad (1878-1936, CA).
She is the second wife in Herbert Samuel’s bigamy case in San Francisco in 1924, six months after their marriage in Oct 1923. And she filed for an annulment immediately on April 19, 1924 awhich was granted on May 3rd.
By 1925 she is listed in the San Francisco city directory as a stenographer, then in 1927 thru 1930 as a book keeper.
She is listed as single (28, ID) in the April 1930 San Francisco census, with a lodger living with her. It appears that she legally (re)married Herbert in June 1930 at Carson City, NV. And she is listed in a 1935 Oakland City Directory as Pearl G. Samuels, living with Herbert.
She worked as an executive secretary and traveled regularly with her boss to New York.
[Oakland Tribune - 23 Sept 1937, pg 8] Blow in Eye Killed Love, Wife Asserts
A blow killed her love for Herbert M. Samuels, master mariner, Mrs. Pearl Samuels alleges in a divorce complaint she filed in the Superior Court today. She says he landed it on her eye last August 4, and the next day she left him. They were married on June 9, 1930 in Carson City, Nev., according to her complaint, which alleges her husband earns $295 a month. She asks the court for $300 of his money for attorney’s fees, and “other relief in reason”.
In 1939 and 1940, she is listed as Pearl Samuels, a bookkeeper for the Sam Bates Co, living in Oakland. Then in the 1941 Oakland City Directory, she is listed as Pearl A. Bates, wife of Sam C. Bates Jr, owner of Sam Bates Co - Contractors and Mining Machinery.
When her mother died in 1943 her married name was "Bates".
She was later living with (married to?) Arthur Karl Uecker (1910-1955), brother of her half-brother Tom Hoad’s wife Edna. She came home from work one day and found him dead in their Oakland home, and Pearl was never heard from again.
In 1958, according to (her father) William Alcorn’s obituary, her married name was "Nelson" and she was living in Oakland.
She is not mentioned in the 1968 obit of her sister Ida, and may have been deceased by then.
She was in Nevada in 1910 at age 8, with her mother Josie (24, CA), sister Ida (13, CA) and brother Philip (10, OR). Her mother is listed as married, but her father isn’t listed with them. Living with them is her mother’s sister May Muldoon (17, NV) and husband Edward (25, NV).
Listed with her brothers Philip Alcorn (19, OR) and Thomas Hoad (6, CA) and her remarried mother, Josie Hoad (38, CA) back in northern Calif in 1920. Her stepfather isn’t listed, but he is Edward William Hoad (1878-1936, CA).
She is the second wife in Herbert Samuel’s bigamy case in San Francisco in 1924, six months after their marriage in Oct 1923. And she filed for an annulment immediately on April 19, 1924 awhich was granted on May 3rd.
By 1925 she is listed in the San Francisco city directory as a stenographer, then in 1927 thru 1930 as a book keeper.
She is listed as single (28, ID) in the April 1930 San Francisco census, with a lodger living with her. It appears that she legally (re)married Herbert in June 1930 at Carson City, NV. And she is listed in a 1935 Oakland City Directory as Pearl G. Samuels, living with Herbert.
She worked as an executive secretary and traveled regularly with her boss to New York.
[Oakland Tribune - 23 Sept 1937, pg 8] Blow in Eye Killed Love, Wife Asserts
A blow killed her love for Herbert M. Samuels, master mariner, Mrs. Pearl Samuels alleges in a divorce complaint she filed in the Superior Court today. She says he landed it on her eye last August 4, and the next day she left him. They were married on June 9, 1930 in Carson City, Nev., according to her complaint, which alleges her husband earns $295 a month. She asks the court for $300 of his money for attorney’s fees, and “other relief in reason”.
In 1939 and 1940, she is listed as Pearl Samuels, a bookkeeper for the Sam Bates Co, living in Oakland. Then in the 1941 Oakland City Directory, she is listed as Pearl A. Bates, wife of Sam C. Bates Jr, owner of Sam Bates Co - Contractors and Mining Machinery.
When her mother died in 1943 her married name was "Bates".
She was later living with (married to?) Arthur Karl Uecker (1910-1955), brother of her half-brother Tom Hoad’s wife Edna. She came home from work one day and found him dead in their Oakland home, and Pearl was never heard from again.
In 1958, according to (her father) William Alcorn’s obituary, her married name was "Nelson" and she was living in Oakland.
She is not mentioned in the 1968 obit of her sister Ida, and may have been deceased by then.
Marriage17 Jun 1930, San Francisco, CA
Annulment3 May 1924, San Francisco, CA
Annul MemoDept 3, Case# 146012
Birth28 Oct 1901, Bergen, Vestland, Norway
Death25 Feb 1985, Alameda Co, CA
BurialEvergreen Cem, Oakland, Alameda Co, CA
MemoMasoleum Evergreen Chapel, Begonia Alcove
Misc. Notes
Daughter of Frederick Knudsen and Lena Fredericksen
Appears to have immigrated and arrived on 3 Sep 1913 in New York aboard the Oscar II which sailed from Christianssand, Norway on 23 Aug 1913. The passenger list shows her mother Lina (44, NOR) destined for her husband Fred in Oakland, CA with children Frederick (17), Edith(15), and Gūdny (11).
She is listed as Taugny (18, NOR) with her family on E. 19th St in Oakland in 1920, naturalized. Her name appears to have been edited, and looks as if it originally was written starting with a "G". It shows her mother Lena (Fredriksen) as age 50, born in Norway and naturalized in 1914. Also listed are brothers Otto (25) and Frederick (23).
She was first married to Rudolf Frederick Anderson on 14 Apr 1923 in Alameda Co, CA, who died in 1936.
So in the 1940 census she is listed as his widow (38, NOR), head of household with his sons Rudolf Fred (15, CA) and Gordon Robert (13, CA).
By 1949 she was remarried to Herbert Samuels and going by the name of Samuelson. Listed in the 1950 census as Gudny Samuels (47, NOR) and head of household with her son Gordon R. Anderson (23, CA).
California death record lists as Gudny Samuelsen, while SSDI lists her as Gudny Samuels.
Appears to have immigrated and arrived on 3 Sep 1913 in New York aboard the Oscar II which sailed from Christianssand, Norway on 23 Aug 1913. The passenger list shows her mother Lina (44, NOR) destined for her husband Fred in Oakland, CA with children Frederick (17), Edith(15), and Gūdny (11).
She is listed as Taugny (18, NOR) with her family on E. 19th St in Oakland in 1920, naturalized. Her name appears to have been edited, and looks as if it originally was written starting with a "G". It shows her mother Lena (Fredriksen) as age 50, born in Norway and naturalized in 1914. Also listed are brothers Otto (25) and Frederick (23).
She was first married to Rudolf Frederick Anderson on 14 Apr 1923 in Alameda Co, CA, who died in 1936.
So in the 1940 census she is listed as his widow (38, NOR), head of household with his sons Rudolf Fred (15, CA) and Gordon Robert (13, CA).
By 1949 she was remarried to Herbert Samuels and going by the name of Samuelson. Listed in the 1950 census as Gudny Samuels (47, NOR) and head of household with her son Gordon R. Anderson (23, CA).
California death record lists as Gudny Samuelsen, while SSDI lists her as Gudny Samuels.